About Me

Twenty four years as a professional photographer has given me the experienced eye and calm ability to preserve the story of your day and the love and connections between you and your loved ones.

My style has developed over this time to let me create the heartfelt, genuine images you see on this website. I like to think that with my experience of over two decades of providing families with images that will stand the test of time, I know what will be important to you many years after the event.

My brides and grooms describe me as a safe pair of hands, a reliable and confident and a calming influence, especially on the morning of the wedding. You will be happy to know that I have ‘seen it all’ over the years – every combination of wedding arrangements and plans and have been able to work around every situation as it comes up. This is why I can confidently guarantee that you will be delighted with your photographs.

Ten years of travelling the world when I was younger gave me my deep interest in people from so many different cultures and countries. I hold qualifications from three major photographic bodies in the UK and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Professional Photographic Imaging. I have won awards for my work from the British Institute of Professional Photography, the Master Photographers Association and other organisations.

I have had the pleasure of personally photographing over 1000 weddings now and it’s always been a privilege to be part of the day.

I live with my wife and two children just outside of Reading in Berkshire but photograph weddings all over the UK and occasionally abroad.

Where ever you are from and whatever your story is, I hope you will let me create photographs at this special time in your life that will mean so much to you in the years to come.

Get in touch for a no obligation chat about your day and the photographs I can make for you.

With Lorraine Kelly a few years ago when I was asked to contribute to a location broadcast about wedding photography at Pennyhill Park Hotel.

“Well what can I say? We chose you to take our wedding photographs as we were blown away by your previous work and I had set my heart on having you long before we were engaged! It was the right choice! As everyone who has seen any of the photographs so far has agreed. Your professionalism and unobtrusive style really captured the essence of our special day without us even noticing you were there. The result is some stunning shots that pick up on every ounce of effort and hard work that so many people had put into our wedding day. These are the photographs that we will admire and display with pride for the rest of our lives and we are so grateful for the hard work that you have put it. Thank you so much.” Ali and Matt Medland, Camberley, Surrey.

“Thanks so much for photographing our wedding, these shots are absolutely amazing! Several of our friends and family have commented on how fab you were, and how discreet. It was an incredible day and we’re really glad we found you to document it!”
Gemma and Luke Shepherd-Robinson, London.

“We love the photos and can’t thank you enough for the efforts you’ve gone to for our future memories of what was the best day of our lives.”Fee and Pete Bryan, Hannington, Hampshire.

“Thanks again for everything, the pictures were exactly what we were hoping for and everyone who has seen them has loved them too. A really brilliant job!”

Jo and Darren Robertson, Saunderton, Bucks .

“It is clear to say your work was a huge hit (with everyone) and it goes without saying we love them too!!”

Sarah and Micka Royand-Ta, Spencers Wood, Reading, Berkshire.

“There are a lot of pitfalls in selecting a professional photographer. I first met Simon Kemp when he was starting out. Simon had talent even then, but it’s a credit to his professionalism and a lot of extremely hard work that he’s now a truly excellent photographer – that doesn’t happen by accident, most photographers go out of business within a year!

Anyone can call themselves a professional now and a lot of people do, even ones who spend most of their time doing other full time jobs, but there are not many really good photographers: anyone can cherry pick their best shots, you can even go on a one day course to ‘build a portfolio’ where professional models are supplied, the posing and lighting are all done for you, but that is not a true or fair representation of what you’ll end up with as a client. It’s misleading, this kind of thing really troubles me.

Lots of professionals are lazy, they become photographers because they think it’ll be easy – so they end up running a sausage machine, producing exactly the same images each time. This means they can’t produce creative work, or offer their clients genuine choice in style or approach. They aren’t interested in learning or even in improving, by investing in themselves, by going on courses etc. So there are a lot of pitfalls to watch put for when commissioning a photographer.

Photographers like Simon have the experience, technique and talent to produce consistently high quality images – this means he makes lots of good shots to give his clients quality, variety and choice. This is a sign of someone who genuinely cares, not about not just their work but also their customer service. A real professional will produce great images time after time, not just occasionally, and he’ll make it look easy…. it isn’t. This is what makes Simon what I’d call ‘a professionals professional’.”